LOS ANGELES, CA – The rate of new coronavirus cases rose Tuesday in Los Angeles, thwarting efforts to launch a new round of Los Angeles reopening business.
The increase is small, but it does reflect a reversal of the trend in declining cases. Provincial officials have warned that the week’s drop in the number of cases has stopped and that the disease could spread as more people interact or let their guards down.
“We have a moderate shipment in LA County, so it remains necessary to continue to take steps to prevent the increase in cases from recovering,” Provincial Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. said. “One important tool to reduce transmission is vaccines.”
The race to acquit enough residents to secure herd immunity hit another roadblock on Tuesday when federal officials recommended a break in the use of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine following reports of rare but severe blood clots among recipients . The city of Los Angeles and the country, meanwhile, have decided to suspend the use of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
Ferrer said that although the province is complying with federal warnings and interrupting the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, residents are still being asked to get the Pfizer or Moderna shot.
“We are grateful to the researchers and scientists who work to ensure that all medicines or vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccines, meet the highest safety standards,” she said.
The city of Los Angeles on Tuesday extended its admission to vaccine to residents 16 years and older. Appointments for the vaccines on city premises can be made at https://carbonhealth.com/covid-19-vaccines/los-angeles. Although the city is run by the city, it is open to any Los Angeles County resident.
The city premises now also contain the vaccination center in the state of Los Angeles, which is operated until Sunday by a partnership between the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. The federal partnership, which was an eight-week trial program, was terminated Sunday and the city agreed to take over the site to ensure continued access to vaccines in the area.
In addition to CSULA, the city also operates sites in San Fernando Park, Hansen Dam, Crenshaw Christian Center, Lincoln Park, Pierce College, USC University Park, Los Angeles Southwest College and Dodger Stadium.
All sites will be open Tuesday through Saturday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Dodger Stadium only offers appointments until 13:00 this week from Tuesday to Thursday to accommodate home matches, although the website will remain open until 16:00.
Vaccination sites operating in Los Angeles County will only be expanded to 16 years and older until Thursday, when the state officially lowers the age. The state’s MyTurn.ca.gov website is expected to be updated Wednesday so everyone of 16 and older can make appointments for vaccinations.
Ferrer noted this week that people aged 16 and 17 can only receive the Pfizer vaccine because it is the only one approved for people who are young, so teens will have to make appointments at places that offer the specific shot.
The province received an award of 323,470 doses of vaccine this week, a decrease of about 80,000 from last week, due to a large decrease in the supply of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine. Los Angeles County awarded only 19,600 J&J doses this week – a small percentage of the total supply.
The province reported another 23 COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, while Long Beach announced two more, bringing the cumulative death toll during the pandemic to 23,500.
Another 448 cases were also reported by the country, with Long Beach adding 29 and Pasadena adding two, pushing the total pandemic total in the province to 1,226,627.
According to state figures, there were 493 people admitted to the hospital due to COVID in Los Angeles County as of Tuesday, compared to 471 on Monday, with 126 people in intensive care, up from 116 a day ago.
Christina Ghaly, director of the province’s health services, said on Monday that the number of hospitalizations could be artificially high. She said that people who may have been infected with COVID weeks ago, but are now being admitted to hospital for completely unrelated reasons, can still test positive for the virus and can therefore be classified as a COVID patient.
According to government figures released weekly on Tuesdays, Los Angeles County’s average daily rate of seven days of new COVID-19 cases was 3.2 per 100,000 residents, a slight increase of 3.1 over the past two weeks .
To progress to the less restrictive yellow level of the state’s blueprint for a safer economy, the country must reach an average daily rate below 2 per 100,000 inhabitants and then maintain the rate for at least two weeks. That means Los Angeles County will now remain guaranteed in the orange level until at least the end of April.
The country’s percentage of people who tested positive for the virus also held steady last week, with a low 1.5%.
Reaching the yellow level can further weaken health constraints, including additional capacity at most businesses.
City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.